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to transfix

to transfix

7.9
Push a sharp stick through something to hold it in place
  • verb
  • /trænsˈfɪks/
  • NSFW
translation icon : empalar
  • With a swift motion, she hoped to transfix the target with her dart.

Examples

  • "I said before that you could transfix a rat at thirty paces with a cast of your lance."

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The hunter aimed carefully to transfix the deer with his arrow.

  • The knight used his lance to transfix the charging beast and protect the villagers.

Synonyms

to stab
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
459 2.7

To push a sharp pointed object into a person or animal

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to pierce
vsto transfix
110 3.5

To make a hole in something with a sharp object like a needle

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to impale
vsto transfix
  • Offensive
26 7.7

Push a sharp object through a person or animal

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to prong
vsto transfix
18 5.3

To push a sharp point into something to move it

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to spike
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
17 3.7

To push a sharp point through something to hold it

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to stake
vsto transfix
  • Offensive
10 9.9

To kill a person by driving a sharp wooden post through the chest

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to spear
vsto transfix
8 4.9

To pierce something with a long sharp point like a stick or fork

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to lance
vsto transfix
5 7.0

Cut a skin sore to let out fluid

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to dagger
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
1 7.9

To stab someone with a short pointed knife

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to empale
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
9.9

To push a sharp stick through something

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to speer
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
9.9

To pierce someone or something with a pointed object

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to poniard
vsto transfix
  • Archaic
9.9

To stab someone with a small thin dagger

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to poignard
vsto transfix
  • NSFW
9.9

To stab someone with a small pointed knife

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole
to thurl
vsto transfix
  • Archaic
9.9

To make a hole through something with a tool

pushes a sharp point through to stick and hold rather than make a hole

Antonyms

1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

16 3.9

To take something off from what it is connected to

How Piercing

to transfix
  • NSFW
7.9
to stab
  • NSFW
459 2.7
to pierce
110 3.5
to puncture
50 3.9

Surface Forms

transfix infinitive
transfixed past
transfixed past participle
transfixing present participle
transfixes third person singular

Morphology

transfix = fix (semi-transparent) = trans + fix

The sense 'to pierce or impale' can be analysed as trans- ('across') + fix ('fasten'), but because 'fix' in common use does not mean 'pierce', the relation is not fully transparent for learners.

Etymology

Transfix comes from the old parts trans- 'through' and fix 'to fasten'. It once meant to push a point 'through' something to hold it, like a skewer, so transfix can also mean 'to pierce' or 'impale'.